Books

[m bryan]

What are some good books for metal detecting and where could you get them? I have the one by Dan Hughes and its a good one but would like to expand my knowledge if thats possible...lol

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

DR.ÖTEK Metal Detector, Waterproof Gold Detector, Pinpoint & Terrain Modes, Professional Metal Detector - Grab it through Amazon!

[Iron Patch]

Damn, you don't need any books... you have this site!

 

[Dan Hughes]

What are some good books for metal detecting and where could you get them? I have the one by Dan Hughes and its a good one but would like to expand my knowledge if thats possible...lol

You want to expand your knowledge? Read my book again! You always miss a lot of stuff the first time through!

Seriously, I'd recommend Karl Von Mueller's books. Volumes 6 and 7 of his Treasure Hunters Manuals are wonderful reading. (There were never any volumes 1 through 5).

They pop up on Amazon and eBay sometimes, but they can be pricey. Act quick and grab this:

http://tinyurl.com/26jyego

And here's the other one:

http://tinyurl.com/22ryxwz

They are totally different, by the way.

---Dan Hughes, http://treasuremanual.com

 

[Tuberale]

What are some good books for metal detecting and where could you get them? I have the one by Dan Hughes and its a good one but would like to expand my knowledge if thats possible...lol

You want to expand your knowledge? Read my book again! You always miss a lot of stuff the first time through!

Seriously, I'd recommend Karl Von Mueller's books. Volumes 6 and 7 of his Treasure Hunters Manuals are wonderful reading. (There were never any volumes 1 through 5).

They pop up on Amazon and eBay sometimes, but they can be pricey. Act quick and grab this:

http://tinyurl.com/26jyego

And here's the other one:

http://tinyurl.com/22ryxwz

They are totally different, by the way.

---Dan Hughes, http://treasuremanual.com

There were earlier volumes of the Treasure Hunter's Manual. But they weren't called Treasure Hunter's Manual.

The first four were by A.T. Evans, and were called, respectively, Treasure Hunter's Yearbook 1970-'71; Treasure Hunter's Yearbook 1971-72; Treasure Hunter's Yearbook 1972-'73, and Treasure Hunters' Yearbook 1974-'74 Edition. Carl named his books Treasure Hunter's Manual to avoid confusion with the earlier Yearbooks. Keep in mind that during the 1970's anyone printing treasure stories had to find their own publishing niche. Carl found his by renaming it.

The Treasure Hunter's Yearbooks are quite valuable in their own right, detailing many, many early detector finds from a time few wanted notoriety.

If you're looking for early treasure hunting information, these are excellent sources. At a time when early treasure magazines were still printing photocopies of photographs, the Yearbooks had photos. Some pretty good leads too.

 

[Dan Hughes]

I think Von Mueller wrote #6 in 1961. He published it privately at least once, maybe twice, before Garrett ("Ram Publishing") got it. So I don't think he was continuing the Evans series - if so, who did #5, and where do we get a copy?

I had one of the Evans books - the second one, I think. It was a large format (8 1/2 by 11) paperback, and mostly pictures of all the different brands and models of detectors available then, if I remember right. Nothing at all like von Mueller's books. They (the Evans books) sell regularly for five to eight bucks on Amazon.

---Dan

 

[Tuberale]

I think Von Mueller wrote #6 in 1961. He published it privately at least once, maybe twice, before Garrett ("Ram Publishing") got it. So I don't think he was continuing the Evans series - if so, who did #5, and where do we get a copy?

I had one of the Evans books - the second one, I think. It was a large format (8 1/2 by 11) paperback, and mostly pictures of all the different brands and models of detectors available then, if I remember right. Nothing at all like von Mueller's books. They (the Evans books) sell regularly for five to eight bucks on Amazon.

---Dan

I should be standing corrected, Dan. You are correct: The original Treasure Hunter's Manual #6 was published in 1961. The first of A.T. Evan's Treasure Hunter's Yearbooks was copyrighted 1971: 10 years later.

According to Treasure Hunter's Yearbook 1970-'71 under von MUELLER, KARL: "In addition, negotiations are underway for reprinting the seven published TREASURE HUNTER'S MANUALS, of which all are currently out of print." Same source also states he "Hid most of the loot ..." Hmmm?

 

[Dan Hughes]

Same source also states he "Hid most of the loot ..." Hmmm?

Hmmmm indeed. I hate to speak ill of dead heroes, but I had a long talk with Hardrock Hendricks (von Mueller's frequent partner) shortly before Hendricks died, and he hinted strongly that Karl' talked the talk, but didn't walk the walk. That Karl's insinuations of big finds went way beyond his actual accomplishments.

I came away from that conversation feeling that Karl never really found much himself.

One thing that struck me as odd was the fact that Karl and Hardrock spent a summer as house painters in Wisconsin. I thought, how could they DO that when there was so much treasure just waiting for them to recover? What a pedestrian way to scrounge up a grubstake!

As for those first five books, I've never seen any of them for sale anywhere, Never seen ads for any of them, and I've never met anyone who had a copy or has even seen a copy of any of them.

Maybe by putting #6 in the title, Karl was using the old trick of starting your new checkbook with check number 500 instead of 1, so people wouldn't know you were a new account holder.

Maybe I should have called my book The Metal Detecting Manual, Vol. 12.

---Dan

 

[Tuberale]

Pretty sure I've seen one or more copies of the originals, which seem to have been photocopies, and not that good of photocopies, either. Don't remember where I saw them, though.

 

[Tuberale]

What are some good books for metal detecting and where could you get them? I have the one by Dan Hughes and its a good one but would like to expand my knowledge if thats possible...lol

Getting back to your original questions: too many to name here. The Journals of El Dorado is one bibliography of such books. If you can track down 5% of the listed books, you're doing better than I have!

 

[njnydigger]

Anything by Dick Stout

He is VERY informative and you'll learn a lot. Especially if you're newer to the hobby. I like Garrett's books, but, too tiny and very general. I wouldn't waste my money on them.

Look for stuff by three authors...

Dick Stout, Ed Fedory & Andy Sabisch.

Read what they have to say and get out there and dig, dig, dig.

As far as Von Mueller is concerned, well, if you are more into metal detecting for coins, relics and jewelry, I'd stay away from his stuff. His thing is more treasure hunting. Going out and looking for buried treasure and caches, searching for gold mines, etc. He covers a little bit on metal detecting, but, not much.

Good luck!

 

[Dan Hughes]

As far as Von Mueller is concerned, well, if you are more into metal detecting for coins, relics and jewelry, I'd stay away from his stuff. His thing is more treasure hunting. Going out and looking for buried treasure and caches, searching for gold mines, etc. He covers a little bit on metal detecting, but, not much.

I think most coinshooters are closet treasure hunters, and though they don't take the time and effort required to research and track down leads to caches, they enjoy dreaming about making such finds. And Karl von Mueller's books are excellent, rip-roaring, rousing material for the dreamers. Armchair adventure at its best!

You won't learn much about modern metal detectors from any book written half a century ago, but you will get your juices stirred and your synapses clicking and your batteries recharged when you read of Karl's adventures.

I agree with you about Stout, Fedory, and Sabisch when it comes to solid instructional material on how and where to get the most out of your metal detector, but I think there is a definite place on the treasure hunter's bookshelf for Karl, too.

 

[Dick Stout]

Just my thoughts...

http://www.stoutstandards.com/Collection.html




DS
www.StoutStandards.com

 

[Old Bookaroo]

Dan:

Having been off the Forum for quite some time, I'm trying to catch up. Forgive me for being a bit tardy to the party.

Anyone who says Karl von Mueller "never found much himself" has no idea what he is talking (or writing) about. Frankly, I don't know how anyone could read THM #6 or #7, Sudden Wealth, or The Encyclopedia of Buried Treasure Hunting, and draw such a conclusion. Treasure of the Valley of Secrets (Segundo, Colorado: 1971) brings $100 today if you can find one. Just why is that? Because it's worth it!

KvonM invented the modern sport of th'ing (he coined that, by the way). Personally, I think Mr. Hendricks put on a good show, wrote an interesting book, and was probably a very nice gentleman. As a treasure hunter, however, he was not in the same league as KvonM. There would not be a "TreasureForum" today without KvonM.

A word of advice: Anyone who claims to have been a "frequent partner" of Karl's probably wasn't.

You can find the details on THM #'s 1 through 5 in The Journals of El Dorado (Dallas, Texas: 1977), pages 301 - 302. Karl had no reason to make up any story about these books - to what gain?

As for working as a housepainter - in his life Karl had many jobs. Most of his life he lived comfortably without punching a timeclock or wearing any man's collar. I would think "housepainter" would be a great cover to gain access and work quietly on a project.

Finaly - have you read KvonM's Waybills to El Dorado? For ten bucks there are more leads between those two covers than in one hundred "treasure" magazines and books by many of the well-known writers.

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo

 

[Old Bookaroo]

Round II - Karl's "Coinshooter's Manual" is an excellent guide. Who do you think "coined" that term?

He also wrote The Master Hunter Manual - the best guide to using a metal detector ever written.

Technology moved along, of course. If you need help with your current machine, turn to the instruction manual for it.

If you want to know where and how to hunt - Karl's books are for you.

Good luck to all,

~The Old Bookaroo